Brace yourself for a pricier burger. Beef and pork prices could hit new
records as the US's meat production slumps as much as 5pc next year,
according to predictions from Rabobank International.

Foreign buyers could feel the pinch the most, says David Nelson, a strategist at the bank, since the average American's consumption of beef is on the slide.

A perfect storm of factors which have gathered to throttle off supply are to blame.

A painful drought in the southwest states has seen ranchers in Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and other dry spots sell off or cull their herds because they cannot grow hay and it – or other feed – is too expensive to buy.

However, the knock-on effects of the dry spell have merely accelerated the shrinking of America's beef industry, a phenomenon which was already under way because of the rising land and feed costs farmers face.

In the past five years, the country's cattle numbers have dropped 5pc to 31m, the Department of Agriculture said.